An Emblematic Case in the Kingdom of Iraq: the Jewish Commander in Charge of the Baghdad Arsenal, Yamen Yousef, from Integration in Nation-Building to Exclusion

This article illustrates aspects of modern Iraqi history, being concerned with the life and career of Yamen Yousef (Yāmēn Yūsif, Hebrew name: Yāmīn Ṣiyyōn [ben] Yōsēf [ben] Nissīm), an officer in the army of the Kingdom of Iraq, who was the commander in charge of the Baghdad Royal Arsenal in the 1930s, and earlier on had been one of the three young officers made to proclaim Iraq’s first king during the coronation ceremony. That up to the late 1930s he was commander in charge of the Baghdad Royal Arsenal is in retrospect surprising (and that late in that decade a false charge was made against him by the far right is unsurprising), in consideration of rising animosity towards his ethno-religious identity. This came to a breaking point when he resigned, thus reverting from the acquired status of a career in the service of the state, to private bourgeoisie: this was happening in the first decade of full independence, when Jewish civil servants were being dismissed in their droves, after having been co-opted into the process of nation-building, owing to their educational qualifications giving them for a while an advantage. This study contributes novel data and facets that enable a fairly novel, and certainly more nuanced view of intercommunal relations in Iraq from late Ottoman times throughout the Hashemite monarchy (and beyond).

Graham Wood. 6 February 1934—4 November 2016

Graham Wood was a world-leading corrosion scientist who bridged both the aqueous (electrochemical) corrosion and high-temperature oxidation branches of the subject. His analytical predictions of depletion and enrichment profiles in substrate and scale during preferential oxidation have long been confirmed in practice. He also demonstrated that transient oxides can be vital solid lubricants in oxidative friction and wear processes. He elucidated ionic transport in amorphous anodic films, leading to precise models of pore initiation, development and closure, thus allowing the strict design of anodic films for practical application. He set up, and headed, the Corrosion and Protection Centre at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) and was instrumental in initiating the Corrosion and Protection Centre Industrial Service, which, respectively, became the world's largest academic centre on the study of materials degradation and the world's largest corrosion consulting organization. While keeping active in research, he held increasingly senior administrative roles, where he established a specialist graduate school and helped prepare UMIST to full independence from the Victoria University of Manchester.

The Indian Freedom Struggle and the Kenyan Diaspora

The connections between the Indian Freedom movement and the Kenyan Indian diaspora after the First World War led to the involvement of the Indian National Congress and Gandhi in the struggle of the Kenyan Indians for equality and equal treatment with the British white settlers in Kenya. The Congress considered that the success of the equality struggle in Kenya would also lead to equal treatment of Indians in India itself. This was consistent with the prevailing political goal of the freedom movement in India in 1919, which was self-rule through Dominion Status under the British Crown. But when the struggle of the Kenya Indians failed and equality was denied to them by the famous Devonshire Declaration in 1923, there the Indian freedom movement realized that this signalled unequal status and a denial of self-rule to India itself. Historic consequences followed. This was the turning point and over the years immediately after the Kenyan decision (1923–1929), the Indian National Congress changed its political aim from Dominion Status to Full Independence as a Republic, realized over the 17 years to 1947.

The Difficult Choices of a Post-Colonial State: Timor-Leste and International Educational Aid

<p>Timor-Leste is still a newly independent country, obtaining full independence in 2002. The new Constitution gives all citizens a right to education, showing how important education is for Timor-Leste. Educational aid has accounted for around 10% of the aid budget (and has been as high as 28%) over the three years from 2011 to 2014. This thesis explores the emerging relationship between Timor-Leste and its two largest aid donors: Australia and Portugal, through the lens of educational aid. Although there are currently some studies on Timor-Leste’s education policy, there is no current study which explores the relationship between donor foreign policy and educational aid. The thesis builds on secondary literature and interviews with important figures in the Timorese government. It argues that donors’ political priorities have had an important impact on shaping education policy in Timor-Leste and that the provision of educational aid can help to highlight Timor-Leste’s position as a highly dependent nation in the world system. Portuguese aid has been strongly driven by Portugal’s attempts to maintain political relationships with its former colonies and promote Portuguese language worldwide. Portuguese funding for Portuguese language education has had an impact on language policy, cementing the position of Portuguese as an official language and promoting a Portuguese-influenced position in Timor-Leste’s foreign policy. Australian aid, meanwhile, has emphasised Tetum and English as appropriate languages and is connected with Australian attempts to minimise Timorese discontent over oil politics in the Timor Gap (or Timor Sea). Coordination between these two different donors with different interests has been weak. Timor-Leste finds itself in a difficult position of dependency whereby it needs foreign aid but cannot trust that aid is being given in a disinterested and functional way.</p>

The Difficult Choices of a Post-Colonial State: Timor-Leste and International Educational Aid

<p>Timor-Leste is still a newly independent country, obtaining full independence in 2002. The new Constitution gives all citizens a right to education, showing how important education is for Timor-Leste. Educational aid has accounted for around 10% of the aid budget (and has been as high as 28%) over the three years from 2011 to 2014. This thesis explores the emerging relationship between Timor-Leste and its two largest aid donors: Australia and Portugal, through the lens of educational aid. Although there are currently some studies on Timor-Leste’s education policy, there is no current study which explores the relationship between donor foreign policy and educational aid. The thesis builds on secondary literature and interviews with important figures in the Timorese government. It argues that donors’ political priorities have had an important impact on shaping education policy in Timor-Leste and that the provision of educational aid can help to highlight Timor-Leste’s position as a highly dependent nation in the world system. Portuguese aid has been strongly driven by Portugal’s attempts to maintain political relationships with its former colonies and promote Portuguese language worldwide. Portuguese funding for Portuguese language education has had an impact on language policy, cementing the position of Portuguese as an official language and promoting a Portuguese-influenced position in Timor-Leste’s foreign policy. Australian aid, meanwhile, has emphasised Tetum and English as appropriate languages and is connected with Australian attempts to minimise Timorese discontent over oil politics in the Timor Gap (or Timor Sea). Coordination between these two different donors with different interests has been weak. Timor-Leste finds itself in a difficult position of dependency whereby it needs foreign aid but cannot trust that aid is being given in a disinterested and functional way.</p>

Royal Polis Policy in the Seleukid Heartland

<p>In the Hellenistic Period most of the Greek poleis (city-states) came under the control of the Greco-Macedonian kings. The ideology of the poleis, which stressed the importance of autonomy, conflicted with the reality of royal domination. In Western Asia Minor, this conflict was resolved by presenting the relationship between king and polis as one of free association, in which the poleis were allowed a large amount of autonomy. The kings used ideas of reciprocity to tie the poleis to them and worked to make their rule as amenable as possible, while the poleis of Western Asia Minor continued to aspire to complete independence. This was not the only possible resolution of the conflict between polis autonomy and royal dominance, however. In the Seleukid heartland of Syria and Mesopotamia the Seleukids founded and maintained new poleis. By means of names, myths, and symbols, the identities of these poleis were closely linked to the Seleukid dynasty. As a result, expressions of polis identity were expressions of loyalty to the dynasty, rather than of opposition. Their internal structures were based around an alliance between the royally-appointed epistatēs and the magistrates of the city, who represented a small civic elite. Royal support was thus important to the internal power structure of these poleis. The poleis of the Seleukid heartland did not pursue full independence, even when the Seleukid royal power collapsed at the end of the Hellenistic period because, entirely unlike the poleis of Western Asia Minor, submission to a higher power was a central part of their identities and internal structures.</p>

Royal Polis Policy in the Seleukid Heartland

<p>In the Hellenistic Period most of the Greek poleis (city-states) came under the control of the Greco-Macedonian kings. The ideology of the poleis, which stressed the importance of autonomy, conflicted with the reality of royal domination. In Western Asia Minor, this conflict was resolved by presenting the relationship between king and polis as one of free association, in which the poleis were allowed a large amount of autonomy. The kings used ideas of reciprocity to tie the poleis to them and worked to make their rule as amenable as possible, while the poleis of Western Asia Minor continued to aspire to complete independence. This was not the only possible resolution of the conflict between polis autonomy and royal dominance, however. In the Seleukid heartland of Syria and Mesopotamia the Seleukids founded and maintained new poleis. By means of names, myths, and symbols, the identities of these poleis were closely linked to the Seleukid dynasty. As a result, expressions of polis identity were expressions of loyalty to the dynasty, rather than of opposition. Their internal structures were based around an alliance between the royally-appointed epistatēs and the magistrates of the city, who represented a small civic elite. Royal support was thus important to the internal power structure of these poleis. The poleis of the Seleukid heartland did not pursue full independence, even when the Seleukid royal power collapsed at the end of the Hellenistic period because, entirely unlike the poleis of Western Asia Minor, submission to a higher power was a central part of their identities and internal structures.</p>

The Moroccan Nationalist Movement and its Anticolonial Activism from 1925 to 1944

During the latter part of the Nineteenth Century, the European colonial rivalry over Morocco intensified. The European powers targeted the North African country because of its strategic location and rich natural resources. Hence, after establishing the French and Spanish Protectorates over Morocco, the colonial powers started to implement their exploitative policies in the Sherifian Kingdom. Those policies provoked the Moroccan people, who refused any foreign presence in their country and pushed them to engage in armed resistance. However, the failure of the armed resistance to liberate Morocco and the emergence of a new generation saturated with the spirit of peaceful resistance contributed to the birth of the Moroccan nationalist movement as a political organization aiming to confront the colonizers’ plans and ambitions by peaceful means. The present paper is intended to highlight the political struggle of the Moroccan nationalist movement from its inception to 1944. More specifically, the paper aims to outline the factors contributing to the emergence of the movement and the means of actions it adopted in its peaceful struggle against colonialism. Finllay, it discusses the historical events that encouraged the nationalist movement to move from calling for reforms to calling for full independence.

Trends in the Economic Development of Democratic Kampuchea (1975-1979)

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the need to examine individual historical stages of Cambodia's economic development to establish the basis for further improvement of the economic system. The purpose of the research was to analyse analytically the development of the economy of Democratic Kampuchea and the role of friendly countries in it. The study on the stated subject was conducted using general scientific theoretical research methods, in particular, methods of analysis, synthesis, and comparison. The article examines the economy of Democratic Kampuchea in the middle of the second half of the 70s. It is determined that after gaining full independence from the French colonialists, followed by the struggle for independence against the Americans, and then the Khmer Rouge era, there was a need to restore and improve the country's economy. The study described the general state of the key industries of Democratic Kampuchea, in particular, light, food, agricultural engineering, heavy, electronic, construction, forestry, chemical, rubber, and military; the principles of conducting trade relations with the countries of the socialist and capitalist camps, and the development features of agriculture under the rule of the Khmer Rouge. The results of the analysis showed that during this period the republic managed to restore agriculture and ensure its subsequent growth, and the updated industry was already fully functioning with the help of the friend countries. The practical value of the study is determined by the integral characteristic of the economic system of Democratic Kampuchea, which contributes to the functional solution of the economic problems of modern Cambodia

Variational inference for Markovian queueing networks

Queueing networks are stochastic systems formed by interconnected resources routing and serving jobs. They induce jump processes with distinctive properties, and find widespread use in inferential tasks. Here, service rates for jobs and potential bottlenecks in the routing mechanism must be estimated from a reduced set of observations. However, this calls for the derivation of complex conditional density representations, over both the stochastic network trajectories and the rates, which is considered an intractable problem. Numerical simulation procedures designed for this purpose do not scale, because of high computational costs; furthermore, variational approaches relying on approximating measures and full independence assumptions are unsuitable. In this paper, we offer a probabilistic interpretation of variational methods applied to inference tasks with queueing networks, and show that approximating measure choices routinely used with jump processes yield ill-defined optimization problems. Yet we demonstrate that it is still possible to enable a variational inferential task, by considering a novel space expansion treatment over an analogous counting process for job transitions. We present and compare exemplary use cases with practical queueing networks, showing that our framework offers an efficient and improved alternative where existing variational or numerically intensive solutions fail.